Chinese man accused of hacking US networks

US authorities have charged a Chinese businessman with hacking into the computer systems of US companies with large defence contracts to steal data on military projects, officials say.

SUSPECT Su Bin worked with two unnamed Chinese hackers to get the data between 2009 and 2013, and Su attempted to sell some of the information to state-owned Chinese companies, prosecutors said.

The three hackers targeted fighter jets such as the F-22 and the F-35 as well as Boeing's C-17 military cargo aircraft program, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Los Angeles that was unsealed on Thursday. A lawyer for Su could not be reached for comment. Su was arrested in Canada on June 28 and remains in custody there, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller in Los Angeles. He has a bail hearing set for July 18. US Department of Justice spokesman Marc Raimondi said the conspirators are alleged to have accessed the computer networks of US defence contractors without authorisation and stolen data related to military aircraft and weapons systems.
"We remain deeply concerned about cyber-enabled theft of sensitive information, and we have repeatedly made it clear that the United States will continue using all the tools our government possesses to strengthen cyber security and confront cybercrime," Raimondi said. Boeing said in a statement that the company co-operated with investigators and will continue to do so to hold accountable "individuals who perpetrate economic espionage or trade secret theft against US companies." "We appreciate that the government brought its concerns about a potential compromise of our protected computer systems to our attention," the company said in a statement.

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.